People active in the silent era and people who keep the silent era alive. Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Photograph: Silent Era image collection.

William Powell

Born 29 July 1892 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, as William Horatio Powell.
Died 5 March 1984 in Palm Springs, California, USA, of heart failure.

Married Julia Mary Tierney (stage actress Eileen Wilson), 15 April 1915; divorced, 15 January 1930;
son, William David Powell Jr., born 1925.
Married actress Carole Lombard, 26 June 1931; divorced, 16 August 1933.
Married actress Diana Lewis, 6 January 1940; until William’s death, 5 March 1984.

William Powell began as stage actor in 1912. Powell’s film debut came in 1922 for Goldwyn Pictures Corporation. In 1922, he began a long association with Paramount Pictures Corporation, until leaving the studio in 1931. He made films for Inspiration Pictures, Incorporated, in 1923 and 1924.

References: Website-IMDb.